The Journey Begins
Our journey officially began on Thursday, May 23. We stayed at my parents the night before and my mom dropped us off at the airport in the morning after feeding us a massive, hearty, Korean breakfast (thanks Mom!) to fuel us for the long 24-hour journey from Chicago to Cape Town with a layover in Atlanta. The 14-hour flight from Atlanta to Cape Town was no joke. But luckily, we had a free seat in our row so we were able to spread out which was a game changer! Especially for Nate who could use leg space of two seats 🙂 After countless naps, movies, and meals in between, we finally arrived at Cape Town around 6pm local time. It was dark and we were exhausted. So we took an Uber straight to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 1 – V&A Waterfront, Bo Kapp, and Historic Downtown Walking Tour (May 25, 2024)
As expected, we did not sleep well our first night thanks to our friend, jet lag. However, we were eager and ready to take full advantage of our first day in Cape Town. Having skipped dinner the night before, we were starving. Luckily, our hotel offers an amazing free breakfast buffet with an omelet station, which to me is the litmus test for a good breakfast buffet. So we chowed down and ate way too much (this will be a recurring theme) and made our way to the V&A Waterfront, which is a modern, upscale harbor, mall, and public waterfront area. I wanted to check out the Oranjezicht City Farm Market which is only open weekend mornings at the Waterfront. The Market was an incredibly charming and bustling open-air market with tons of food stalls wafting delicious smells along with booths by local businesses. We were so tempted by the vast array of cuisines and foods, but unfortunately were too stuffed from breakfast to eat anything. Our sole purchase was fresh fruit/veggie juices that we thought might help detox and calm our stomachs.
After roaming through the Market, we walked through the Waterfront to take in the views and the ocean breeze. We spent almost no time inside the massive mall as it was just full of the same stores you see in the US. Afterwards, we went to the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, which is the historically Malay Quarter, where “Malay” laborers (mostly Muslim) brought to South Africa by the Dutch settled. Today, it is widely known for the colorful homes in the neighborhood and is a popular destination for tourists to learn about the Malay culture and history. By around 2pm, we were starting to finally get hungry so we had a small lunch at a cute restaurant called Faeeza’s Home Kitchen in Bo-Kaap. We had Beef Samoosas and a Chicken Curry. The Samoosas were especially delicious. Our introduction to Cape Malay cuisine was a hit!
Later in the afternoon, we joined a free walking tour of the historical central business district. There were only three people that showed up to the tour so it was one of the most private walking tours we’ve been on. Our guide, Cedric, was a friendly, talkative (he definitely chose the right profession) who shared so much knowledge about Cape Town’s history. Some interesting facts we learned – despite English being an official language of South Africa, only 9% of South Africans learn English as their native language and is the 4th most common native language! In fact, Afrikaans is a more common native language in South Africa coming in at 13% and 3rd place. Also, much of modern Cape Town is built on land that was created by filling in the ocean over decades to create more buildable land. It’s always incredible the amazing feats accomplished by humans.
By the end of the tour, it was dark and time for dinner. Having eaten terribly and irregularly the past 48 hours, we decided to have a lighter dinner near our hotel. We ate poke bowls on Bree Street, an area known for restaurants and bars. After dinner, we went to The Athletic Club & Social, as I read online that it would have live jazz music. Unfortunately, not only was there no live jazz music, but it also served the worst Old Fashioned and Aperol Spritz we had ever had. It truly seems possible that they forgot to add the alcohol and instead doubled up on syrup. Not a great start to the night, but at least the vibe and ambiance was nice. We didn’t linger for long and then went to Tjing Tjing House, a rooftop bar with an Asian twist. Luckily it was great and made up for the previous faux pas. I had a Old Fashion with toasted black sesame which was fantastic along with a Japanese cheesecake with miso caramel which was sublime. Nate doesn’t usually like cheesecake but he liked this one – so light and fluffy. After a drink, we were exhausted and called it a night. After all, we had a big day ahead!
Day 2 – Table Mountain and Sunset Catamaran Cruise (May 26, 2024)
We woke up bright and early on Sunday to climb the famous Table Mountain that surrounds Cape Town. Fun fact, Table Mountain is 600 million years old, making it one of the oldest mountains in the world. And it is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Needless to say, hiking Table Mountain is a must do. There is a cable car you can take both up and down the mountain. However, as hiking enthusiasts, we decided to hike the mountain despite the warnings about the difficulty of the hike. We found that it was not at all an exaggeration when people described it as a continuous Stairmaster to the top. It truly was the most endless uphill hike with steep steps we had ever done. The hike was a challenge for us Chicagoans used to the flat prairielands. 10 minutes in, our hearts were already pounding and legs burning. But slow and steady, we continued to step up, up, up…. and further up until we finally reached the top after 1.5 hours. According to my iPhone, I climbed 188-flights! Putting aside questions of accuracy, I think it’s safe to say I set a personal record. But it was all worth it. The views from the top were truly magnificent. We saw views of Cape Town and the water from different angles and even saw two mountain goats grazing and jumping along the side of the mountain! It was really impressive to see how far and gracefully they could jump.
Our plan had been to climb up and down, but once we were at the top and near the cable station, we couldn’t bear to pass up the opportunity to leisurely take the cable car down. So bought tickets and descended in probably less than 5 minutes what would have taken another 1.5-hours to climb down. Despite once again over eating at breakfast, we were starving after the hike. For lunch, we went to Clarke’s, another well-loved restaurant near our hotel and at sandwiches which were delicious. After lunch, we went back to the hotel to wash up and rest for a bit before heading back to the V&A Waterfront for a sunset boat cruise.
If you know us, you probably know that we love being on the water. Sunset catamaran cruises are a staple of our travels having done one in Busan, South Korea and the Cayman Islands previously. So we couldn’t pass up the chance to do one here in Cape Town and it did not disappoint. The weather was perfect and we witnessed a perfect sunset on the water’s horizon with a pink gin and tonic in hand. The crew were telling us about how they sometimes see whales during, but alas, we were not so lucky to see one.
Once the boat ride ended, we went to the Time Out Market (a food hall with stalls of famous restaurants and chefs) at the Waterfront for dinner. There were so many options that I had to do about three full rounds before I made my decision to try a South African braised lamb dish as I wanted to try something new and local. After much contemplation, Nate chose – can you guess? A burger. You have to applaud his consistency! Our last meal out in Chicago was a burger because Nate wanted to make sure that he got his fix of “real American food” before the world trip. He lasted two full days before he caved and got another burger 😊
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